


a bullet for you.

by britishlovers



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Bottom!Tyler, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Highschool AU, I don't know where it's going, I know it's cliche, M/M, Top!Josh, josh is an idiot, my first fanfic don't judge me, tyler is a popular jock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-10-30 06:40:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10871208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/britishlovers/pseuds/britishlovers
Summary: And Joshua Dun spends a lot of time looking at Tyler Joseph.Thinking about Tyler Joseph.Infatuating over Tyler Joseph.But, you see, Tyler Joseph doesn't even know Joshua Dun exists.





	1. The Tyler Joseph

**Author's Note:**

> hiiii  
> so this is my first ever fanfic, i know it probably sucks, but i hope you enjoy it anyway!  
> also, i apologise for any times i randomly switch tenses or go from 3rd person to 2nd person, it's something i do subconsciously and i'll try to fix it.  
> thanks for reading!

Tyler Joseph is a basketball god. He's tall, he has beautiful brunette hair, soft brown eyes and is friends with everyone. Seriously, how is it possible for one person to have so many friends? When he laughs, it makes everyone else laugh, because his laugh is so beautiful it could probably cure diseases. The way he bites his lip when he concentrates in class is godly and the way he moves, literally just the way he walks, is enough to make someone melt.  
When he's on the court, running around and he's sweating , with his jersey showing off his arms and his neck, the way he grips the ball when he holds it, and wipes his forehead with the back of his hand is unholy. During lunch, when Tyler sits in the cafeteria with his, again, insanely large amount of friends, and he leans back in his chair, putting his feet up on the table, head falling back to laugh at something someone says, neck exposed, is a picture worth painting. 

Well, that's what Joshua Dun thinks anyway.  
And Joshua Dun spends a lot of time looking at Tyler Joseph.  
Thinking about Tyler Joseph.  
Infatuating over Tyler Joseph.  
But, you see, Tyler Joseph doesn't even know Joshua Dun exists. 

Because Josh, unlike Tyler, is not a basketball god. His hair isn't a perfect shade of chocolately brown, it's messy, and annoyingly curly, and right now, it's red. His eyes are not soft and warm, they're a dark, harsh brown. And Josh doesn't have a large social circle, he has four friends, who are just as un-godlike as him. Josh is the guy who has gauges in his ears, rocks a nose ring without a care, and changes his hair colour all the damn time. He spends any free time he has playing the drums or watching the x-files and his parent's think he's going nowhere in life (which is probably true). He doesn't talk unless spoken too, and usually comes off as cold and uninterested. He's also failing all his classes, but the thing is, he doesn't really care.

So why would The Tyler Joseph, hot popular basketball god of their highschool, know who he is? He doesn't. 

And right now, as Josh sits in the cafeteria with his small gang of friends, fiddling with the core of his apple absentmindedly, his eyes are focused on the holy aura who is Tyler Joseph, watching how he laughs, how he talks animatedly and how everyone hangs off every word he speaks. It seems like everyone in this goddamn highschool is whipped over Tyler, including Josh. 

Josh is so intent on watching Tyler he doesn't even notice the conversation among his friends turn to focus on him.  
"What's his problem?" Ashley asks, her eyes narrowing curiously as she watches Josh on the opposite end of the table, twirling the straw in her empty juicebox as she speaks. Her long blue hair dangles over her shoulders carelessly, and she leans back in her chair casually.  
Dallon, who is too busy stuffing his face with the horrible cafeteria food, doesn't hear her, and looks up from his plate with a slightly annoyed "hmm?"  
Ashley rolls her eyes, before gesturing to Josh with a move of her head, eyes settling back on to the red haired boy again. Dallon laughs, shaking his head as he looks back down at his plate, a large smile plastered on his face despite his mouth being full of food.  
"Drooling over Joseph again."

At this, Josh turns his head, gaze dropping from Tyler to instead glare at his bestfriend beside him. Whether it is the fact that Dallon is next to him and his voice is loud, or just hearing any mention of Tyler Joseph gains his attention, he now focuses on his friends.  
"I'm not 'drooling over Joseph.'" he says harshly, as he leans forward, resting his elbows on the table, apple core still in one hand.  
Dallon snorts, rolling his eyes, and the corner of Ashley's lips pull up into a knowing smile as she tilts her head to the side. Josh narrows his eyes at her, opening his mouth before she can say anything.  
"I am not drooling over Joseph." 

Because aside from looking at Tyler Joseph, or thinking about Tyler Joseph, or infatuating over Tyler Joseph, his favourite pastime is denying the fact that he's crushing on Tyler Joseph. Because Joshua Dun doesn't have crushes. He doesn't find the cliché jocks hot and he definitely doesn't have feelings for the basketball god of their school. At least, that's what he tells everyone, including himself.  
"Deny it all you want friend, but the truth is, you can't keep your eyes off of him." Dallon retorts, smirking at Josh as he gives him a sideways glance.  
"I can keep my eyes off of him, actually." Josh shoots back, not letting himself turn to look at The Tyler Joseph again to prove his point.  
"Hm." Dallon contemplates, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, if you say so but wait-, oh is Tyler Joseph taking his shirt off?" he asks incredulously, his gaze going past Josh to look at where Tyler and his friends sit.  
Josh turns his head immediately, as if on instinct, but is confused to see Tyler sitting exactly how he was before, chair kicked back and his legs up on the table, shirt still on. It's not until the sound of Dallon and Ashley laughing can be heard that he turns back around, a scowl on his face.  
"Fuck you all." Josh says annoyingly, leaning back on his chair and throwing his core through the air so it lands in the bin beside the table, then folding his arms against his chest.

"Well, I think it's cute." Melanie pipes up from her spot at the table, twirling her half-black half-blonde hair around one of her fingers innocently. Josh narrows his eyes even more at this, he doesn't want any part of him or his life to be described as cute.  
He opens his mouth to say something snappish back, when the arrival of Brendon interrupts him, and his mouth snaps shut again as the obnoxiously loud brown-haired boy sits down on the chair between Dallon and Ashley, all of the groups attention now adverted to him, because Brendon is always the centre of attention.  
"My people!" he declares as he lets his food tray land on the table infront of him, pulling in his chair as he looks around at everyone. Ashley and Melanie smile at him, and Dallon, for once, stops eating to sit up and thump Brendon on his shoulder.  
"Finally! Where the hell have you been?" Dallon asks him, and Brendon laughs, picking up the sandwich to take a bite.  
"Detention." he says with his mouth full, and Dallon laughs, muttering an "ofcourse."  
"What for this time?" Josh asks, his lips turning up slightly as he watches Brendon stuff his face with food. It's a known fact that Brendon is not liked by their teachers, at all. Whether it's because he's a sassy smart-ass, or because he never shuts up, or because he's just generally a very loud person, he's always landing himself in detention for something.  
"Joshie, I'd love to tell you, but a magician never reveals his secrets." he says with a smirk, winking at Josh.  
Not only does Josh narrow his eyes at the nickname, but he rolls his eyes at how dramatic Brendon is as well.

"So, what were you guys talking about before I graced you all with my presence?" Brendon asks as he finishes his sandwich and picks up the apple on the tray, taking a bite of it.  
Josh adverts his eyes from him at this question, staring at Dallon instead, his gaze cold. But, his bestfriend was obviously oblivious to Josh's actions, and opened his mouth easily.  
"We were talking about how Josh has the hots for Joseph." he says.  
Josh's jaw clenched as Brendon started laughing, and he turned to shove Dallon annoyingly, who just laughed at the action.  
"I do not have the hots for Ty-,"  
"Oh save it Joshie, we all know you do." Brendon says with a smirk as he looks over at Josh, and Josh pushes back on his chair with a huff, rolling his eyes.  
"Too bad someone else has the hots for him too." Melanie says quietly, her gaze looking over towards Tyler's group. Josh turns his head slightly, the others following shortly, his eyes falling on the blonde haired girl who The Tyler Joseph has his arm around. Jenna Black.  
Josh feels the jealously coil inside him almost immediately, and he turns away after a few seconds, leaning his elbows on the table once again.  
"Jenna Black." Brendon voices out loud, tilting his head slightly. "She's hot, no wonder Tyler has a thing for her." 

This time Josh isn't the only one who shifts uncomfortably, however no one notices Dallon biting his lip as Brendon calls Jenna hot.  
"But Josh, you're hotter." Brendon adds with a smirk, winking at his bestfriend. Josh felt his cheeks heat up slightly and he rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair uncomfortably.  
"Why don't you go talk to him?" Dallon added, cocking an eyebrow as he looks at Josh. Immediately Josh shakes his head, furrowing his eyebrows.  
"Because firstly, Tyler Joseph is a popular basketball God, and I'm no one.  Secondly, he also has a girlfriend, and is like the straightest guy in the school. And thirdly, I don't li-"  
"Don't like him." the group said in unison, their sarcastic voices blending together. It was followed by a bout of strong laughter and Josh huffed, but he can't help the small smile that tugs on his lips.

Half an hour later, Josh walks into his Biology class, an annoyed expression on his face, followed closely by Dallon and Brendon, who are still talking about Josh's infatuation with The Tyler Joseph.  
"Josh is too shy, he'll never talk to him."  
"Wouldn't they be so cute together though?"  
"Josh and Tyler."  
"Joshler." they both said together, laughter filling the classroom.  
"I swear to god, if you two don't shut your mouths." Josh said as he spun around, facing his two friends, who wore giddy expressions on their faces.  
"Sorry, Joshie." Brendon said, stifling his laughter as he patted Josh's shoulder, walking past the red-haired boy to sit down at their usual table. Dallon followed closely after him, patting Josh's shoulder as well, taking a seat beside Brendon. Finally, almost reluctantly, Josh followed them both, sitting beside Dallon, letting his books fall on to the desk with a thump.

The class was already over half full, and the room was filled with the chatter of their classmates. Their biology teacher, Ms. Smith, sat at her desk at the front of the classroom, going through some notes before the room was full.  
Dallon and Brendon were chatting away carelessly, Josh wasn't listening, but he was pretty sure they had dropped talking about Tyler Joseph. Thank god, because at that moment The Tyler Joseph walked through the door, followed closely by two of his friends that he shared the class with, Mark and Ryan.  
As The Tyler Joseph walked past their desk, Josh found himself subconsciously swallowing nervously, wanting nothing more than to follow his every move with his eyes and take in his holy-ness, but also feeling an overwhelming amount of shyness at that very moment, so his eyes dropped slightly.  
He pretended not to hear Brendon and Dallon's hushed laughter as the group walked past, and when he was sure Tyler and his friends had sat down at their table, he glanced up slightly. Despite The Tyler Joseph only having two close friends in the class, it seemed everyone knew him, and half of the class turned in their seats to chat with the basketball god. 

"Naw, is Joshie shy?" Dallon babbled, pouting his lips sarcastically, reaching over to lightly pinch Josh's cheek. Josh scowled, shoving Dallon's shoulder, the other boy laughing loudly.  
At that moment, Ms. Smith stood up and got everyone's attention as she picked up a whiteboard marker, turning around and scribbling something on the board.  
"Group project partners," is what she scribbled down and Josh sighed audibly, leaning back in his chair.  
He hated group projects with a passion. It was okay if he was partnered with Brendon, or Dallon, or both, but in this class they were never allowed to pick their partners, it was always someone random. Thankfully, in previous projects, Josh had been paired with atleast half decent people, who never said anything about Josh's lack of enthusiasm or input and seemed to do most of the work anyway. He supposed he'd have to cross his fingers and hope Ms. Smith was as thoughtful this time around. 

The red-haired boy watched his teacher scribble down the names silently, most of the class hushed with the occasional "woohoos!" when someone was paired with a friend, or the grumpy sighs when someone is paired with someone they're not friends with. It was a curious method of setting partners, Josh had decided. Instead of calling out the names, the teacher had always resorted to writing them up on the whiteboard, picking out random names. It was probably because this way she didn't really have to put up with the backtalk from the kids who weren't happy with their partners, and could keep setting partners without any interruption.  
Josh was zoning out until he saw Ms. Smith begin to write Brendon's name on the board. He heard his friend pull in a breath beside him.  
"Please be someone hot." he whispered quietly and he and Dallon laughed.  
It only took a second for Ms. Smith to finish writing, "Brendon Urie & Ryan Ross."

Brendon's eyes drifted over to where Tyler and his friends sat, his eyes landing on Ryan. He shrugged his shoulders lightly, turning his head to look back at his friends. "Not bad." he said with a smirk. Josh looked over to where Ryan was sitting, only to see that the group was already looking this way, including The Tyler Joseph. For a split second their eyes caught and Josh looked back down at the desk quickly, feeling his cheeks heating up.  
Josh didn't look back up after that, feeling stupid. Why did The Tyler Joseph make him act like this? He was supposed to be tough and punk-rock, not the type of guy who blushes just because the basketball god of his school looks at him.  
He only looked back up when he heard the uncontrollable laughter of his two friends beside him. He glanced at them quickly, confused, only to see them both looking at him.  
"What?" he asked slowly, narrowing his eyes. In between his laughter Dallon managed to look at him, before turning his head to look at the board. "The board." he managed to choke out.  
Josh turned to face the board, wondering what the hell was making his friends act like this. To start with it looked completely fine, until his eyes drifted down to the last two names scribbled at the end of the list. 

"Joshua Dun & Tyler Joseph."


	2. I like your hair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> does anyone else find that their writing just gets worse the more they continue, ugh. i promise i'll try to make it better in future chapters, but for now enjoy this shitty one!
> 
> also thank you SO much for the nice comments on the last chapter, comments actually warm my heart so much. i went to school smiling after reading them, and i never go to school smiling, so thank you!!

Joshua Dun & Tyler Joseph

Josh read the words over and over, the laughter from Brendon and Dallon merely background noise. He swallowed nervously, blinking a few times before turning to look over towards where The Tyler Joseph sat with his friends. Ryan and Mark were saying something to Tyler, and the three of them broke off into laughter, before The Tyler Joseph turned his head towards Josh, and he smirked. The action was enough to send nervous butterflies flying through Josh's stomach, and his head snapped back to stare at his desk, feeling his cheeks heat up slightly. He felt Dallon's hand slide on to his shoulder, and turned his head a little, eyes narrowed. Dallon had a big goofy smile plastered on his face.  
"If you don't like him, Josh," Dallon began quietly, giving him a knowing smile,  
"Why are you blushing like a crushing school-girl." Brendon concluded, leaning forward slightly to smirk at Josh.

Josh felt his cheeks heat up even more and he looked away quickly, lifting a hand up to run through his red curls, a sigh escaping his lips.  
Of-fucking-course he was partnered with The Tyler Joseph.  
And he didn't know how to feel about it. Part of him was terrified. He was going to have to speak to Tyler and work with Tyler and be next to Tyler. Tyler will see how much of a blubbering awkward mess Josh becomes even just thinking about him.  
He felt his heart stutter as Ms. Smith called for the partners who's name was written first to move over to where their partners were situated and then she'd explain what their assignment was going to be.  
Josh closed his eyes for a second before he stood up, grabbing his notebooks, beginning to walk over, trying not to trip over his own feet, because wouldn't that be the perfect first impression.  
Brendon stood up shortly after, moving in to walk behind Josh, smirking slightly as Dallon called a goodluck out to them both.

"Don't make a fool of yourself, Joshie." he whispered, leaning in closer to Josh's shoulder, and Josh would have shoved him if he wasn't behind him right now. As he made the short trip across the classroom he became annoyingly aware of how average he looked right now. He was wearing black skinny jeans, black vans and a faded NASA shirt. Josh's hands pulled at the hem of his shirt subconsciously as he approached The Tyler Joseph's desk. Mark had moved to join his partner, so it was only Ryan and Tyler sitting there.

Tyler sat back in his chair casually, leaning slightly to the side to face Josh and Brendon, one arm hung over the back of his chair. His beautiful eyes were slightly narrowed as he watched them approach.  
Josh felt his cheeks heat up just looking at him.

The desks were set up in squares, where four people were able to sit around them, two on one end, two on the opposite end. Mark usually sat next to Tyler, so the chair beside him was free. On the other end sat Ryan, and generally no one sat next to him anyway, so that chair was also free. Josh stopped awkwardly as he got to Tyler's desk, however Brendon didn't even hesitate as he walked over to where Ryan sat slipping in to the seat beside him, already saying hey and starting conversation.  
Josh looked at him annoyingly, wishing he was able to play it cool as well as him. God, why did he have to be so awkward.

Josh turned back to look at Tyler, his eyes subconsciously dropping to look over him. The Tyler Joseph wore, like him, black skinny jeans, however they seemed to look much better on him. He had a basic white t-shirt on, that looked anything but basic on him and black vans with contrasting red socks, something only Tyler could pull off.

"Are you going to sit down, or just stand there staring at me all day?"  
Tyler's high yet somewhat scratchy voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and Josh blushed furiously as he pulled out the chair beside Tyler and sat down, taking in a breath.

If he had enough guts to look over at The Tyler Joseph, he would have seen the brunette smiling in an amused way, his own soft brown eyes dropping to look over Josh. But, the red haired boy was too shy for that, so he was oblivious to the action as he sat there, staring at his desk.  
Brendon's laughter made his eyes look up however, and he saw the two boys opposite of them laughing at something the other had said. Josh clenched his jaw slightly, painfully aware of how close Tyler was to him. He could feel the other boy's eyes on him, and it made his skin prickle anxiously.  
It was silent on their side of the table for a few minutes before he heard Tyler speak again.

"Are you a mute or something?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. Josh turned his head slightly, but not enough to look at The Tyler Joseph, shaking his head, feeling the slight tinge of pink that dusted across his cheeks. Tyler chuckled slightly, the sound sending tingles through Josh's body.  
"Then why aren't you talking?"  
"Because maybe I don't want to talk to you." The response was automatic, Josh's generally tough and hard demeanour making itself shown. The truth was, if the person speaking to him wasn't Brendon, Dallon, Ashley or Melanie, Josh didn't really want to speak to them. Scratch that, he found it hard to speak to them, his anxiety spreading through his body and coiling within him like a snake. So by acting tough and like he didn't care, no one would speak to him, solving his problems.

He instantly wanted to slap himself after the words came out, not meaning to sound like a douche towards The Tyler Joseph, but atleast now Tyler wouldn't speak to him and would leave him alone, like everyone else did, saving Josh from showing any of his awkward personality off.  Except he didn't.  
"Why not?" Tyler asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the desk, tilting his head slightly, looking at Josh.  
Josh turned fully this time, looking at Tyler curiously. The Tyler Joseph rose an eyebrow, his lip pulling up into a slight smirk.  
"Everyone wants to talk to me."  
Josh snorted, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, well, not me, buddy." he replied somewhat confidently his eyes lingering on Tyler's face for probably a second too long, before he turned back, his cheeks feeling warm. Brendon was looking at him with a slight smirk on his face and he shot him an annoyed look.  
"Yeah, you do." Tyler replied back, and Josh stiffened slightly, turning his head slowly to look back at the brown haired boy. Why was he doing this? Usually people shut right up after Josh snapped at them.  
"No, I don't." he said back, his voice slightly harder. If he didn't have the biggest crush on The Tyler Joseph, he would be finding it very hard to put up with this boy's back-answering right now.  
"Yeah, you do." he said back, Josh opened his mouth to answer but he was immediately shut up as Tyler continued.  
"You're just intimated by me."  
Josh narrowed his eyes. "I'm not intimated by you." 'Yes, I am,' he thought to himself silently after.  
Tyler tilted his head even more, before shrugging. "Okay, whatever." he said, and Josh thought that finally it was over. He went to turn away again, but Tyler wasn't over.  
"Then why do you keep blushing and turning away from me?"  
The words made Josh blush even more, and he turned away quickly.  
"I-I'm not blushing, d-don't know what you're talking about." he blubbered, shaking his head, ignoring Brendon's laughter from the other side of the table. Tyler laughed, and if Josh wasn't a complete awkward mess right now the sound would have sent shivers down his spine.

Tyler didn't speak to him again after that, the teacher began to talk about what it was they would be doing in the next lesson.  
"You and your partner will be given a frog each, which you will then dissect together."  
Those words made Josh's stomach churn, and he closed his eyes for a second. Fucking fantastic. He hated blood. He hated guts. He hated anything to do with a living thing's anatomy. And now he had to deal with that while partnered with The Tyler Joseph. His thoughts flashed back to the time, a few years ago, when he and Dallon had come across a dead bird, it's stomach ripped open, most likely by a cat. Josh had fainted. He didn't know how he was going to react to the frog dissection tomorrow, but one thing he did know, was that there was no way in hell he was fainting infront of The Tyler Joseph.  
Ms. Smith told them that for the remainder of the class they had to take notes from their textbook. Josh sighed, he didn't have a textbook. While everyone else on the table opened to the chapter they were on, Josh sat there silently, tapping his pen against the desk. It didn't actually bother him that he didn't have a textbook, he normally didn't do anything anyway. Josh wasn't just lazy, he was unmotivated. He knew he was stupid, and that he probably wasn't going to go anywhere in life, so why try?

That was until The Tyler Joseph pushed his textbook over to be in the middle of them. Josh glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. Tyler raised an eyebrow back, gesturing to the book.  
"We can share, if you want." he asked curiously. Josh looked down at the textbook, then back up at Tyler, a small smile playing on his lips.  
"Ah, yeah, thanks."  
And for the first time in a long time, Joshua Dun did work in class.

When the bell sounded, signalling that it was time to go to their next class, Josh shut his notebook, pushing his chair back and standing up as everyone else did. He honestly couldn't wait to leave the classroom, having The Tyler Joseph so close beside him made it hard for him to breathe, made his body feel hot and made his head spin.  
As he got to the door and was about to leave with the flow of students around him, he heard something.  
"Hey, Dun!" Tyler called, causing Josh to hesitate at the doorway, looking back at the brunette. Most of the students had left already, it was only Josh, Tyler and Ms. Smith left in there now.  
"Yeah?" he asked curiously, narrowing his eyes slightly. Tyler walked up to him confidently, eyes raising up to Josh's hair.  
"I like your hair."  
Tyler winked at him as he pushed past Josh, walking out the doorway to join Ryan and Mark, who were waiting for him. Josh stared at nothing for a few moments, his cheeks were definitely more red than pink this time. He lifted a hand up to run through his dyed hair, smiling slightly.

The Tyler Joseph liked his hair.

Tyler met up with Ryan and Mark outside the classroom, a small smirk plastered on his face as the three of them began to walk to their next class, maths.  
"Dude, fairyboy totally has the hots for you." Mark said beside him with a laugh. "I wasn't even on our table, but I could see the dude's pathetic blushing from the other side of the classroom." Tyler laughed back, turning his head to look at him.  
"What'd you say to him in there, after class?" Mark asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Told him I liked his hair."  
Mark laughed, patting Tyler on the back. "Leading him on, niiiice." Tyler smirked again, shrugging his shoulders slightly.  
Ryan walked uncomfortably beside them, keeping quiet.


	3. Don't back down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> Thanks so much for all the love you're giving this, it really means a lot to me, especially since it's my first fanfiction. This chapter is a little 'meh', and I apologise for any mistakes there might be in there. I hope you enjoy it, though! Also, I apologise for the constant username changing, just trying to find one I like.  
> Thanks so much, again!  
> ~ There's some homophobic language in this part, just a smidge ~

The next day came quicker than Josh was expecting. One minute he was walking home after school, still buzzing about the fact that The Tyler Joseph had commented on his hair, and the next moment he was waking up in his bed, all messy-haired and groggy brained on the day of the frog dissection. Josh felt his stomach churn just at the thought of it.  
With a sigh, Josh pushed himself out of bed, not bothering with making it. He didn't waste any time with moving from his bedroom to the bathroom, getting straight into the shower and hoping that the hot water that scorched down his skin would take the thoughts away. He just really, really hoped that he wouldn't faint infront of the guy he had been crushing on for a very long time.

Later on,  he went back into his bedroom, still damp from his shower, and spent a solid few minutes looking through his clothes before he decided on a simple white tank that showed off his muscled arms (spending nearly all his free time drumming really worked out for him), as well as a pair of black skinny jeans (ofcourse) and the same simple vans as yesterday.  
He spent the rest of his morning banging away on his drums, letting the movement of it wash away all the fears and anxiety he had about his biology class. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, getting all sweaty again after he had a shower, but he didn't care, as he spent all of his energy into hitting those drums as hard as could, ignoring the shouts from his parents to "stop that racket."

The morning for Tyler started off just as ordinary. He woke up with a sigh, moving a hand to run through his  tussled brown hair, head lazily falling to the side as he reached over to his bedside table and turned on his phone

 **[ Jenna <3 ]** The guys are having a party tomorrow night, we're going, right?

He read the text message from his girlfriend with a sigh, slowly typing back his answer.

 **[ Tyler <3 ]** If you want to, babe x

The guys were always having parties, and they always went the same way. Getting drunk, laughing at shit that really wasn't that funny, trashing the house with his friends, hooking up with Jenna, he was honestly kind of getting sick of it. But, anything for Jenna, right?  
His eyes glanced over the babe, the kiss, the hearts, and he tried to ignore the feeling deep within him, the feeling that told him he wasn't inlove with Jenna, like he said he was, like he told her he was. But he had to be. His parents loved Jenna, his friends loved Jenna, he. loved. Jenna.  
He shut off his phone with an annoyed click, tossing it back on the bedside table huffily. Turning his head back to face the ceiling, he took a deep breath in. After a few minutes of lying there quietly, he was annoyed to find his thoughts drifting to that certain red-haired boy he was partnered with in biology. Before Josh had come over to his table, he and Mark, well, mainly Mark, had devised a plan to lead Dun on. The whole school knew Josh was gay, it wasn't anything new, but for some reason Mark thought it would be funny to play with the kids feelings.

"Come on Tyler, he definitely has the hots for you, imagine how funny it'll be if he fucking falls for you or something. When he realises you don't like him back, he'll be devastated. That'll show him what he deserves for being a fag."  
That one word had made Tyler swallow uncomfortably, and he pretended not to notice Ryan shift nervously from across the table. But he couldn't say no, if he said no imagine what Mark would say. 'Why, you a fag too Joseph?' No, he couldn't let that happen. So he put on his best The Tyler Joseph smirk and agreed to play along.

But, he was not expecting to find the way Josh Dun blushed nervously all the time cute. He was not expecting to find the way his NASA shirt clung to his fit body hot. And he was not expecting to find Josh Dun's red hair attractive. But, as much as his internal self screamed and tore at him, he did.  
So, before he had left the classroom and told Dun he liked his hair, he had not been leading him on like Mark had said. Like he himself had said he was. He just honestly, really liked Josh Dun's red hair.  
And that morning, as he was lying in bed, he couldn't help the small smile that played on his lips as he realised he was going to get to spend his biology lesson with Joshua Dun again. It wasn't until he heard his mother coming up the stairs that his smile faltered, and he suddenly realised, he was smiling over Joshua Dun. Immediately the smile disappeared completely, and he felt disgusted with himself.

"Tyler, honey, you'll be late if you stay in bed any longer." his mother called from outside his room, and Tyler closed his eyes for a second. Any of his personal thoughts, the doubt about Jenna, Dun and his stupid red hair and hot body and cute habits, the party, vanished completely and when he opened his eyes again, it was The Tyler Joseph who answered with a, "Yeah, okay!" The Tyler Joseph who was a star basketball player, most popular guy in his grade, and going out with the hottest girl he's ever seen. Who he's inlove with.  
It was The Tyler Joseph who went to school that day wearing a black hoodie, black shirt and black skinny jeans, met up with his 'friends' at the corner of the street like always, and walked into school with a smug expression on his face, Jenna clinging to his side.

-  
"Dude, I know you have the whole 'punk rock don't talk to me too cool for school' vibe going on, but don't you think if you like Joseph, you should atleast fucking talk to him? You sat there like a mute yesterday, and then when you did talk to him you told him you didn't want to talk to him. Or you stuttered like a complete mess. You need to lift your game." Brendon said as leant against the lockers beside Josh, raising an eyebrow. Dallon, who was on the other side of Josh, laughed, and Josh narrowed his eyes slightly. He had given up on telling his friends he wasn't crushing on Tyler Joseph. He knew they knew. And besides, maybe they could actually help him.  
"I can't help it." Josh muttered annoyingly, turning around to lean his back against his locker, sighing slightly.  
Brendon patted his shoulder somewhat sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Just, don't back down Joshie. Talk to him, look at him, let him know that you're interested." Josh turned his head slightly, looking at Brendon with a "do I trust you or are you setting me up for failure" kind of look.

At that moment he felt Dallon push his shoulder. He went to turn and snap at him, but saw him gesture with his head towards a group of people who just entered the hall. It was The Tyler Joseph and his friends.  
Immediately Josh went to look down, feeling suddenly very insecure and shy, but Brendon shoved him. "Don't back down." he said quietly and Josh sighed, lifting his head back up.

Tyler and his friends stopped just down the hall from them to talk to another group of people, and Josh was staring. He knew he was. And he knew other people knew he was too. His eyes did the full body scan of The Tyler Joseph, appreciating the way his skinny jeans clung to his legs and the way his hoodie made him look very huggable. When his eyes made it back to Tyler's face, Tyler was looking back at him. Their eyes caught, and Josh felt his heart splutter irregularly in his chest, but he didn't look away. Tyler's eyes dropped down then, and Josh felt like his legs were going to collapse beneath him when he realised The Tyler Joseph was checking him out too.  
"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, be strong." he thought to himself when he noticed Tyler's eyes lingering on his exposed arms, and then suddenly they were back on his face, and their eyes caught for a second time. Then, in an extraordinary change of events, a small tinge of pink spread across The Tyler Joseph's cheeks and he turned his head away bashfully.

Josh let out the breath of air he didn't realise he was holding in, eyes slightly wide.  
"Holy shit." Brendon said beside him, and Josh turned his head to look at him, nodding slightly.  
"Tyler Joseph just checked you out."  
Josh swallowed, his adams apple bobbing slightly, and he nodded his head a second time.  
"Woah." Dallon said on the other side of him, and he threw an arm around Josh's shoulders.  
"If all it took was telling you not to look away, maybe I should have told you that months ago." Brendon said with a laugh, and Josh found himself laughing along too. However, when he looked back over to The Tyler Joseph's group, confusion swirled inside him. Tyler had an arm around Jenna's waist, and her head was resting on his shoulder easily. Tyler was laughing at something someone said, and then he was walking again. As the group passed, Tyler didn't look back over, and soon enough they had rounded a corner and were out of sight. Josh sighed. Tyler was straight, he was straight with a girlfriend, he was popular. Josh was a no one. A gay no one.

"There's no point getting excited though." Josh mumbled grumpily, shrugging Dallon's arm off of his shoulders.  
"He's straight. And he has a girlfriend."  
Brendon snorted, and Josh turned to glance at him.  
"Joshie, Joshie, Joshie. Have you never heard of a beard?"  
Josh rolled his eyes. "You think Jenna is Tyler's beard?" he asked, laughing at the end. "That's stupid."  
Brendon shrugged slightly. "Whatever you say. But, what Tyler just did, was not straight. So, all I'm saying, is there's a chance that Jenna is just a girl he's using to cover up the fact that he likes dicks not chicks."  
Josh couldn't help but laugh at that, Dallon joining in too.  
"What?" Brendon asked stupidly, rolling his eyes. "It's true!"  
"That's a pretty douche-y thing to do though, if it's true." Josh said, the laughter stopping as he frowned slightly.  
Brendon shrugged again. "When people are scared, they can do pretty douche-y things, Josh."  
-  
The rest of the day passed relatively quickly, and then suddenly Josh found himself walking in to biology, Brendon thumping his shoulder.  
"You got this, Joshie." he said and Josh took in a breath, walking over to Tyler's desk. Luckily, no one was there yet, so he could silently look at the frog that was already situated on the desk with only Brendon there to witness his look of utter disgust.  
"I'm so fucked, Brendon." Josh whined, swallowing nervously. Brendon laughed, shaking his head.  
"No, you aren't. Just tell yourself to get over it. It's only a little bit of blood and guts." Brendon answered, whispering towards the end as Tyler and Ryan entered the classroom and made their way over. Brendon gave him one last 'be strong' look as Josh sat down, forcing himself to turn and watch Tyler sit down beside him. The brunette turned his head slightly, the corner of lips turning up into a half smirk, half smile.

"Hey." Josh said suddenly, a small smile playing on his lips.  
Tyler narrowed his eyes at him slightly, tilting his head. "Hey.." he began, before laughing slightly, the sound sending butterflies erupting through Josh's stomach. "You actually want to talk to me today?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Josh.  
Josh chuckled, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "Guess you could say I'm not intimidated by you anymore." That was a complete lie, but Josh's voice was strong and he was shocked to find himself talking to Tyler in such a normal way that he just went with it.

Tyler snorted, rolling his eyes. "Really? Why not?"  
Josh thought for a second, feeling his throat clench as he realised he didn't know what to say. So he just let the words tumble from his mouth.  
"Because I saw you checking me out today and I know you liked what you saw." Josh suddenly realised what he said, and his mouth snapped shut, feeling himself beginning to blush, but, seeing the pink that spread across Tyler's cheeks again, the brunette turning his head away and muttering out "what? don't know what you're talking about, wasn't checking you out," was enough to give Josh the confidence to just smirk back at him. Brendon had started coughing across from them to cover up his laughter, and as Josh turned his head he saw Ryan even smiling in an amused way.  
Josh turned back to Tyler with a smile, but his smile faltered as he saw Tyler sitting there quietly, staring at the desk. What Brendon said before, about him possibly being scared, came back to him suddenly, and he reached out, gently putting his hand on The Tyler Joseph's shoulder, laughing silently.  
"Hey, I'm just joking man." he said, giving Tyler the best reassuring smile he could muster as the brown haired boy turned his head slightly, looking over at Josh.

The small smile that Tyler gave back to him was enough to make Josh's heart beat faster. In that short moment, that short moment that consisted of Tyler looking at Josh with some sort of thankfulness in his eyes, and Josh's hand grasping his shoulder slightly, the red-haired boy watched as Tyler put his shield back up, shrugging Josh's hand off his shoulder, rolling his eyes.  
"Yeah, like I'd ever be checking you out anyway." he shot back, and Josh shrugged slightly, turning back to face the frog infront of him, a small smile still on his lips.

Soon enough, the class was full, and Ms. Smith walked around the classroom giving everyone the tools they needed, telling them it was their task to explore the frog's internal systems.  
As Josh held the scalpel in his hand, he felt himself begin to sweat nervously.  
"Ah, here." he said, pushing his hand over to Tyler, thanking god when the brunette took the scalpel from Josh's hands with a confused look on his face, which suddenly turned to a smug knowing look.  
"Don't tell me Joshua Dun is scared of a little bit of blood." he drawled, smiling in a satisfied way as Josh adverted his eyes when Tyler's hand moved over to the dead amphibian.  
"'m not." he said back, though the wobble in his voice probably gave it away. Tyler chuckled, and though he desperately wanted to watch Tyler, to prove to him that he wasn't scared of blood, he couldn't.  
It was quiet for a little bit, before Tyler's voice sounded beside him. "I mean, it's actually pretty cool. Are you sure you don't want to look, Dun?" Josh shook his head, "mmhhm"ing quietly as he tapped his fingers against the table in an attempt to calm his nerves.  
He felt Brendon kick him from under the table, and he turned his head to glare at his bestfriend.  
"Don't back down." Brendon mouthed to him, and Josh sighed. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, before he opened them, shifting his body and eyes to watch Tyler dissect the frog.  

He managed to keep himself in check for a few minutes, letting his eyes look away every few seconds, breathing deeply, but as quietly, as he could. It wasn't until Tyler motioned for him to come closer, (and Josh agreeing because hey, getting closer to The Tyler Joseph can never be a wrong decision, right?) that Josh suddenly regretted ever looking in the first place. To a normal person, it wouldn't have been that much blood or guts, but for Josh, it was enough to set his stomach churning, feeling the world spin around him as he quickly leaned back in his chair.  
"Oh god." Josh said, bringing a hand up to cover his eyes as he took a few breaths. However, no matter how hard he tried to get over it, all he could see in his mind was blood and guts and death, and the feeling of needing to be sick quickly filled him. He didn't notice the sounds around him seemed to blend together, or that he was growing really unsteady sitting on his chair, slowly slipping further and further off the edge. He was suddenly aware of the teacher beside him though, and he did manage to catch the words "take him to the nurses office". It was then he felt an arm hook around him, helping him to his feet. His hand slipped from over his eyes however he kept his eyes clenched shut as whoever it was, he automatically figured it was Brendon, helped him out of the classroom, doing his best to ignore the laughter around him, and ignore the feeling of wanting to vomit everywhere.  
When he finally knew they were out of the classroom, he took in a few deep breaths, letting his eyes slowly flutter open. His vision was a little burry as he stared at the ground, but that didn't stop him from speaking.

"At least I didn't faint, right?" he said, a little breathless, turning his head to look over at who he thought was going to be Brendon.  
But it wasn't. It was The Tyler Joseph.

The brunette chuckled slightly, shaking his head, and Josh found himself blushing, again. He was now painfully aware of Tyler's arm around him, and his arm around Tyler, as they stumbled slowly through the halls on their way to the nurses office.  
Josh didn't speak again, he just let Tyler help him through the school. He felt embarrassed as fuck, like a total dickhead. He also was aware of the fact that he still felt like he needed to be sick, and that his vision was blurry. But there was no way in hell he was going to be sick while Tyler Joseph had his arm around him.

When they made it to the nurses office, all Tyler had to say was "frog dissection", then the nurse showed them through a door, gesturing for Josh to lay on the bed and take deep breaths. She also gave him a bucket incase he needed to be sick. Josh felt stupid.  
Tyler slunk down into the chair that was off to the side of the bed, running a hand through his hair. Josh let his head fall to the side on the stiff pillow, an apologetic and slightly ashamed smile on his lips. "Sorry." he said quietly, and Tyler looked at him, shrugging slightly, a slight smirk on his lips.  
"You got me out of class, so don't worry about it." Josh narrowed his eyes slightly. Even if he was on the brink of passing out, he was pretty sure he never heard the teacher telling Tyler to stay with him, but hey, he wasn't complaining. He turned his back to look up at the ceiling, thankful that the needing to be sick feeling was slowly disappearing.

"I feel stupid." Josh mumbled quietly, and Tyler raised an eyebrow.  
"Why? We all have things we can't handle. So what you nearly passed out. " he answered, and Josh sighed.  
"Yeah, but I nearly passed out infront of the guy I was trying to impress." he whined, before he realised what he said, snapping his eyes shut with a groan, his hand coming up to tangle in his hair annoyingly.  
Tyler felt his cheeks heating up, and he looked down at his fingers playing with the hem of his hoodie, smiling like an idiot.  
It was quiet for a few minutes, the only sound coming from the slow tick of the clock on the wall. Josh felt awkward, and stupid, and dumb. What was wrong with him? What did he say that? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Tyler was the one to break that silence. His voice was softer, quieter. It didn't really sound like The Tyler Joseph at all.  
"Uh, Josh?" he asked hesitantly, and Josh opened his eyes slowly, letting his head fall to the side again as he looked at Tyler, who was still looking down at his fingers as they played with the hoodie.  
"Yeah?" he answered quietly, heart starting to thump a little harder.  
"How did you know you're gay?"  
The question shocked him slightly, and he raised an eyebrow as Tyler slowly looked up to meet his eye.  
"Ahhh," he began, thinking for a moment. "I don't know, I guess I just knew. I knew I found guys more attractive than girls. Knew I would prefer to kiss guys over girls, I just.. I just knew."  
Tyler nodded, his gaze dropping back down to his fingers again. Josh watched him silently, he didn't know if he's ever seen Tyler so quiet, looking so small, so fragile.  
"Were you scared of what people would think?" Tyler asked again suddenly, not looking up this time.  
Josh shrugged, shaking his head. "People always tell you that it's wrong for two people of the same gender to be together, but if it's love, if it feels right, how can that be wrong? I was slightly scared of my parents reaction, because they're religious, but they accepted it, because I'm their son I guess. And people at school? If they have a problem with it, fuck them."  
It was quiet again for a few moments, before Josh decided to break the silence this time.

"D-do you think you're gay, Tyler?" he asked slowly and quietly, his voice stuttering slightly.  
Tyler stiffened a little, lifting his head slightly to look back at Josh. The two looked at eachother for a few moments, and Josh noticed how nervous Tyler looked. At one point, Tyler opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. The more they looked at eachother, the softer it seemed Tyler grew, until suddenly, the same thing that happened in biology happened again. All it took was a second for Tyler's shield to come back up, and he shook his head, leaning back in his chair, scoffing slightly.  
"Ofcourse not. I have a girlfriend, Dun. A girlfriend who I love."  
Josh sighed, nodding his head, turning back to look at the ceiling. "Okay." was all he said.  
-  
Tyler wasn't going to tell him, but he was thankful, thankful that Josh didn't push the subject any further. As he heard the bell sound, signalling the time to go to the next class, he stood up, hesitating before he left.  
"Are you gonna be okay to go to your next class?" he asked, and Josh nodded his head, giving Tyler a smile that crinkled the skin around his eyes and made him look holy.  
"Yeah, thanks." the red-haired boy answered, and Tyler found himself smiling back, shrugging his shoulders slightly. He smiled at him for probably a little too long, before he turned to leave, awkwardly waving and mumbling a goodbye, before he opened the door and left, ignoring the blush that Josh's smile had given him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brendon is the man though, am I right?


	4. I wish I could be a bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> Sorry it's been a while since the last update, life got really stressful really fast and my mental health was not great but hey, I'm back with another chapter!  
> Thank you SO much for reading this fanfic so far and giving it so much love <3 I love you all.  
> Happy Pride Month, by the way!!  
> Please excuse any mistakes, this hasn't been edited.

Josh, who had no motivation to go back to any of his classes for that day if he could get away from them, managed to persuade the nurse to let him stay there until last period, when she finally forced him to get up and leave.  He walked through the halls with a slight grudge, but also couldn't help the smile that showed up because of The Tyler Joseph and their one on one time before. So that's why as he walked into maths, he wasn't as annoyed as he usually would be about that class. Josh walked over and took his seat next to Dallon, who was already there with Brendon, Ashley and Melanie, they all had this class together.

"Oh, so he finally makes his triumphant return." Brendon says with a stupid grin as he notices Josh joining them. Josh narrowed his eyes annoyingly, but couldn't help but smile too.  
"So, anything happen between you and Joseph?" Dallon said quickly, hardly giving Josh a chance to get comfortable. Josh tilted his head slightly. He could tell them about the conversation they had about Josh being gay, or the way Tyler smiled and blushed before he left, but he decided not too.  
"Nah, not really." he said. The group could pick up that he was lying though, whether by the smile on his face or the slight pink tinge on his cheeks, however no one said anything more. It was quiet for a moment, the class was about to start, before Brendon reached over and grabbed Josh's arm.  
"Oh, by the way, we're going to a party tomorrow."

Josh raises his eyebrows, looking from Brendon to Dallon. "A party? Who's party?" They never get invited to parties.  
"Mark's party. Ryan invited me, and he told me I could bring some friends. Melanie and Ashley said no, something about studying," Brendon rolled his eyes at that before continuing, "Dallon said yes, but only if you come. So, you're coming."  
Josh chuckled, nodding his head. He'd been to a few parties before, but none were held by friends of The Tyler Joseph. "Yeah, I guess I'll come." he said, noting the fact that Tyler would most likely be there. Brendon nodded, satisfied, removing his hand from Josh's arm.

It was after school now, Josh was sitting on the edge of his bed, with Dallon lying across his bedroom floor.  
"You need to help me, Josh."  
Josh scoffed, rolling his eyes. "It's not my fault you like him, Dal." he said back, crossing his arms.  
Dallon groaned, bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes. "I cant help it Josh! He's just so, just so... just so..Brendon." he said with an exasperated sigh, letting his arms spread out on the floor. Josh couldn't help but smile at how overdramatic his bestfriend was being.  
"You're always hounding at me to talk to Tyler, so why don't you talk to him." Josh said, Dallon answering quickly.  
"I talk to him everyday."  
"Not just general talk, Dallon, like "talk" talk. Tell him you like him."  
Dallon looked at him like Josh had just proposed the worst idea in the entire world.

"But he doesn't like me back."  
"How do you know that?"  
"Because he has the hots for Ryan Ross."  
Josh rolled his eyes. "So, just because he has the hots for someone doesn't mean he necessarily likes them." he added and Dallon closed his eyes.  
"I can't." he said after a moment of silence.  
"Why?"  
"I just can't."  
"Okay."

They sat their in awkward silence for a little, before Josh gestured to the tv. "Want to play some video games, or something?" he asked, and Dallon nodded, quickly sitting up and grabbing the controllers (because he pretty much lives at Josh's house, so he know where everything is.)  
"MarioKart?" Dallon asked and Josh nodded as he slipped down from the bed to sit next to his bestfriend. While they waited for the game to load, Josh could pretty much feel Dallon's eyes on him.  
"What?" he asked, turning his head to look at him.  
"Why won't you tell me what happened in the nurses office?" he asked and Josh groaned, hanging his head back.  
"I told you Dal, nothing that big happened. Just, what did happen is kind of a personal thing, I guess, I don't know. Doesn't feel right telling anyone, okay?"  
Dallon pondered it for a moment, before nodding, letting Josh sigh happily as they both started to play, their attention only at the screen for the next few minutes.

When the race finished, Dallon looked at him again.  
"Tyler's probably going to be at the party tomorrow."  
"I know, Dallon."  
"What're you going to wear?"  
"I don't know, clothes?" he answered back sarcastically.  
Dallon hmmed for a second. "He likes your arms, wear something that shows yours arms."  
"How do you know he likes my arms?"  
"Because when he checked you out this morning, his eyes lingered on your arms."  
"Okay, I'll wear something that shows my arms."  
"And wear a snapback, snapbacks suit you."  
"Okay, Dal."

Oh, how Tyler wished he could be anywhere else but here right now. Jenna's lips were everywhere, on his lips, on his jaw, on his neck. Her hand was riding up under his shirt and usually he'd be happy to be doing this, but today, all he could think about was Joshua Dun. And he really didn't want to be thinking about Joshua Dun while his girlfriend was kissing him on his bed. It wasn't until Jenna's hand slipped down to the hem of his jeans that he pushed her lightly, shifting himself to sit up.

"Ty? What's wrong?" Jenna asked, pouting her lips slightly. Tyler opened his mouth, unsure what to say, before he just made something up.  
"Not feeling up to it today, Jen, sorry. I-I think I'm getting sick or something."  
Jenna scrunched up her face, shifting away from him slightly. "Well, I don't want you to get me sick." she said, pushing herself off of Tyler's bed and standing up. "I'll leave you alone then, do you think you'll be okay for Mark's party tomorrow?" she asked, and Tyler nodded, answering with a "yeah."  
"Okay, baby, see you tomorrow." she said, blowing her boyfriend a kiss before walking out of his room. He heard her retreat down the stairs, but didn't sigh contently until he heard the front door shut.  And even then, he couldn't relax, because suddenly his mum came up the stairs, knocking gently on Tyler's door and coming in.

"Everything okay? Jenna didn't stay very long." she said, walking over to sit on the end of Tyler's bed.  
Tyler shrugged, "She had stuff to do." he said, and she nodded her head. Tyler sat there quietly, staring a spot on his wall.  
"Everything okay, Ty?"  
"Huh, oh, yeah." he stammered, a hand running through his hair absentmindedly.  
"You can talk to me, sweetheart." Tyler turned his head to look at her slowly, a sigh leaving his lips.

"What do you think about gay people, Mum?" he asked cautiously, swallowing nervously when she furrowed her eyebrows, tilting her head.  
"Gay people?" she repeated, a hint of confusion in her voice. She looked at Tyler for a little while, and he shifted slightly, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze.  
"I mean, I don't totally understand everything about their.. ways.." she started carefully, before continuing, "But, it's their life.. I suppose they can live it however they want to."  
The answer was good enough, and Tyler nodded, his gaze going back to the wall again.  
"Why? Is there something you want to tell me, Ty?"  
Panic set in then, and he shook his head fast, looking back at her. "No, no. It just came up at school today and I wondered how you felt about it, that's all." he answered with a reassuring The Tyler Joseph smile. She smiled back, nodding.  
"Okay, sweetie." she patted Tyler's arm before she got up and left, closing the door behind her. Tyler let out a long breath, running his fingers down the side of his face.

As he laid there, he considered picking up his phone and calling Jenna again, telling her that he was fine, sex should make him feel better, right? But instead he found his thoughts wandering to Josh once again, thinking about his smile that crinkles his eyes and his red hair and his godly arms, and how he wanted to see him again. Josh, instead of Jenna.  
"Fuck." he said simply.

Josh looked through his closet, hands brushing past countless clothes, until his fingers curled around a black "I want to believe" tanktop. He took it out, looking at it as he held it infront of him, before nodding. It showed his arms, like Dallon said it should, and also showed off his personality. He shrugged it over his shirtless torso, before he walked over to where he kept his jeans and underwear. He undid the towel that was tied loosely around his waist, before he shrugged on his underwear and a pair of black ripped skinny jeans. He also grabbed a red snapback, putting it over his still wet hair, completing his look with some simple black vans.

As he picked up his phone from his bedside table, he felt it vibrate in his hands, and he glanced down to see a text from Brendon.

 **[ Beebo ]** We're outside, hurry up

He hesitated before leaving his room, looking at his reflection in the mirror quickly. A nervous sigh escaped his lips as he exited his room, bounding down the stairs, calling a quick goodbye to his parents before he walked out the door, pushing it shut. Sure enough, Brendon was waiting on the road outside his house with Dallon beside him. They weren't in a car, they had all decided it was best if they just walked, incase they all got a little too drunk. Both of his friends smiled at him as Josh walked up to them, Dallon patting his back as he got close.  
They walked to Mark's house happily, the conversation light and happy between the three of them. The sun was slowly starting to set around them, the sky being painted with pretty oranges and reds. They could tell when they were getting close to Mark's house, the thumping sound of the music was clear to hear a mile away.

"Never thought I'd be spending my Saturday evening at a party held by Mark Eshleman." Dallon said as they approached the house, many people already outside in the front yard, definitely drunk.  
"You have me and my wonderful flirting ability to thank for that." Brendon said with a smirk as they walked up to the door, Josh feeling slightly uncomfortable under the gaze of all the people around him. He knew what they were thinking, 'what are they doing here?'  
Brendon pushed open the door, inviting himself and the other two in easily. Josh slowly stepped into the house, the pounding of the music already loud in his ear drums. There were a lot of people here already, many of them off their face drunk and dancing crazily to the music. The three of them stood there awkwardly for a moment before Ryan approached them, making his way through the crowd.

"Hey! You made it!" he said as he walked up to Brendon, his words slurring only slightly. Brendon laughed, nodding his head, not denying the drink that Ryan handed him, downing it easily. Ryan, probably a lot more confident due to the alcohol buzzing through his veins, grabbed Brendon's hand with a smile. "Come on, there's more where that came from."  
And then there were two, Josh and Dallon standing there together, watching the departing figures of Brendon and Ryan melt away into the crowd. Josh looked over at Dallon, who's jaw was clenched.  
"Okay, but you have no right to be jealous if you won't talk to him." Josh said loudly to get his voice over the music. Dallon glared him, before his gaze went behind Josh's shoulder.  
"Okay, well you have no right to be jealous if you won't talk to him." Dallon said back with attitude, and Josh furrowed his eyebrows, turning around to follow Dallon's gaze.

Tyler walked in to the room they were in, Jenna holding on to his hand tightly and dancing to the beat as much as she could. He was wearing a white tank top, the arm holes so big you could see a lot of his torso, he was also wearing the same tight skinny jeans as the day before, red socks and black vans. Josh swallowed nervously as he watched him.  
It didn't take long for Tyler to notice him, his eyes going wide for a second, wandering why he was here. Josh mustered up a smile, lifting his hand and waving awkwardly. Jenna was now all over Tyler, her hands trailing over his body, her body pressing against his as she danced. As Jenna leaned in and kissed him, her lips lingering far too long on Tyler's for Josh's liking, he felt a slight flame of jealousy ignite in his bones.  
But, that was pretty much distinguished as Tyler pulled away, telling Jenna something, untangling his body from hers. Jenna pouted, tugging on Tyler's hand, his arm, and gripping on to his shirt, shaking her head. Josh watched curiously as Tyler said something again, this time pulling himself free, turning and walking away from his now annoyed girlfriend, walking towards him instead. Dallon patted his shoulder before he walked off into the crowd, giving him nothing but a knowing smirk.

"Hey," Tyler said as he reached him, bringing up a hand to rub awkwardly at his neck. Josh pretended he didn't notice Tyler's eyes dropping slightly to take in what Josh was wearing, but he couldn't help the slight smirk that pulled at his lips because of it.  
"Hey." he replied easily, suddenly finding it a lot easier to speak to The Tyler Joseph.  
"I didn't know you'd be here." Tyler said and Josh shrugged slightly.  
"Ryan invited Brendon." Josh said and Tyler replied with a laugh, nodding slightly.  
"Of course, Ryan's got the biggest crush on Urie. But, don't tell him I told you that." he added a wink on the end, and Josh smiled widely.  
They were both talking loud, trying to get their voices over the much too loud music, and there were bodies all around them, dancing, pushing at them.

"Did, you, ah, want a drink or something?" Tyler asked him, somewhat shyly. He gripped a red cup in his own hand, the contents nearly empty, but he could tell that Tyler wasn't drunk yet.  
"Yeah, sure." he replied, and Tyler smiled at him, gesturing for Josh to follow him to the kitchen, so he did. The Tyler Joseph filled up a cup with alcohol for Josh, who took it happily, giving Tyler a 'thanks.'  
They didn't stay in the kitchen long, instead they went back out into the living room, where Josh leant against the wall, taking a few swallows of the drink in his hand.  
"Your girlfriend didn't look too happy about you leaving her." Josh said, raising an eyebrow. Tyler scoffed, rolling his eyes.  
"She gets touchy, and clingy, when she's drunk." he replied, and Josh nodded, something catching his gaze over Tyler's shoulder. It was Jenna, and she had latched on to another guy.

"Ah, yeah, I can tell." Josh said awkwardly, and Tyler followed his gaze, turning around. As he saw Jenna grinding against the other guy, his jaw clenched slightly, but he didn't feel the need to go over there. He didn't feel jealous. He didn't even feel angry. Atleast there was some other guy keeping her busy. He knew it was wrong, he knew he should be angry, he knew he should be marching over there and punching the guy in the face, before grabbing Jenna and dancing with her all night. But, the thing was, he didn't want to.  
"Hey, did you want to go outside?" Tyler asked as he turned back around. Josh looked back at him, slightly confused as to why Tyler didn't want to go interfere with Jenna and the other guy, but he nodded slowly anyway.  
"Come on."

The two manoeuvred their way through the packed house slowly, having to push past all the hot bodies and avoid getting caught amongst all the dancing. Josh was starting to feel slightly claustrophobic, he hated being around so many people, especially when a lot of them were too drunk to know what they were doing, or saying. Finally the backdoor came into his view, and he breathed out a happy sigh of relief. They were both about to push open the door when Tyler heard his name being called out.  
"Tyler! Hey, Tyler!"  
Tyler turned around, looking around for the source of the calling. That's when he spotted Mark a few metres away, leaning against the wall, a random girl clinging to his side. When Mark realised Tyler had noticed him, he raised his hand, gesturing him over. Tyler swallowed nervously, turning to Josh slightly.  
"You go ahead, I'll only be a minute."  
Josh smiled slightly, nodding his head, before he pushed open the backdoor, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air being outside provided.  
Tyler slowly approached Mark, raising an eyebrow at him as he got close.  
"Yeah?" he asked his friend, somewhat confused as to what he wanted, but also somewhat nervous, as he subconsciously knew what Mark was going to say.  
"Who the fuck invited Dun?" Mark pretty much spat, eyeing Tyler up. Tyler shrugged, looking away.  
"I don't know, Ryan, take it up with him." he said back. Mark grabbed his shoulder roughly, and for a second Tyler was scared. When Mark got drunk, he couldn't control himself. But, suddenly, a knowing smile crossed Mark's face, and he began to laugh.  The girl, who was way too drunk to know what was going on, joined in.

Tyler looked back at him confusingly,  "What?" he asked.  
"The PLAN. I forgot about the plan, Joseph. Sorry 'bout that. Continue on, woo him with your jock-ness. Can't wait to see his face when you break his poor little faggot heart."  
Tyler felt his fists clench slightly, narrowing his eyes. He forgot about the stupid plan, the stupid plan that he hadn't even really agreed to. He so wanted to shove Mark right then and there, tell him to take the plan and shove it up his ass. But there was something controlling him, making him scared. If he did that, Mark would turn on him. And then everyone would turn on him. He'd lose Jenna, lose his friends, lose his ranking. He'd have to quit basketball, because his team would hate him, and oh, imagine what his parents would think. So Tyler forced a The Tyler Joseph smile, nodding his head.

"The plan." he clarified with a forced laugh, winking at his friend. Mark let go of Tyler's shoulder then, and Tyler wasted no time in turning around and walking out of the house, the fake smile wiped from his face as soon as he stepped outside, and instead, being replaced by a small, yet genuine, smile, as he spotted Josh. The red haired boy was lying on the trampoline, face tilted up towards the sky. There were a few other people outside, but all were too drunk and oblivious to realise that The Tyler Joseph had walked over to the trampoline and was pulling himself up, sitting beside Josh cautiously.  
Josh's head rolled lazily to the side, smiling widely when he saw Tyler sitting beside him.

"Hey." he said simply, almost stupidly. Tyler found himself smiling dumbly back.  
"Hey."  
"What'd Mark want?"  
The smile seemed to drop from Tyler's face then, and Josh noticed.  
"Ah, n-nothing." Tyler answered, a hand rubbing at his neck nervously.  
Slightly curious, Josh raised an eyebrow, however he dropped the subject, letting his head roll back to look up at the sky, which was still painted in oranges and pinks as the sun descended.

"I love the sky." he said absentmindedly, and Tyler looked down at him curiously. Josh could feel Tyler's eyes on him and he laughed before continuing.  
"It's so peaceful up there. There's no problems, no worries. It's.. calming." he said. Tyler went from looking to Josh to looking up at the sky, smiling slightly. It was beautiful, he'd admit that, the colours swirling around and melting together beautifully.  
It was quiet for a few more moments, before Tyler stopped looking at the sky. He glanced around quickly, before he slowly lowered himself down so that he was lying on his back too, the trampoline bouncing slightly beneath him.  
Josh found himself holding his breath as Tyler laid down beside him, he was so close. Their arms brushed eachother and he could feel Tyler beside him. Hear him breathing. He tried to concentrate on the sky, tried to let the darkening colours ease his nervousness, but he was just so aware of The Tyler Joseph right. next. to. him.

A few birds flew over them, and he heard Tyler sigh.  
"Sometimes I wish I could be a bird."  
Josh contemplated this silently. He was going to ask why, but Tyler beat him to it.

"They're free. If they want to leave, they can. They can go anywhere they want.. do anything they want. It's.. it's not fair."  
Josh turned his head at this, looking at Tyler curiously, his brown eyes slightly narrowed in confusion. The guy beside him, was so different to The Tyler Joseph he saw at school. Tyler's words were sincere, they were true, and they were filled with emotion.. a longing. He also took this moment to admire Tyler's beauty. Sure, he had stared at Tyler before, many times before, but right now he was so close, and Josh could really appreciate Tyler's long eyelashes and how they fluttered when he blinked, his beautiful soft brown hair (oh how badly he wanted to reach out and run his hand through it) and how he wanted to touch his seemingly flawless tanned skin so badly.

"You can do anything you want, Tyler." Josh replied, watching as Tyler swallowed, his adam's apple bobbing. "You can leave, you can go anywhere, be anyone you want to be. You can be free."

The words swirled through the air for a moment, before Tyler let his head fall to the side slowly. Now Josh was even more aware of how close they were, only a few inches away from eachother. Dark brown eyes found soft, mocha eyes, and Josh was glad to see that a little bit of pink tinged Tyler's cheeks, thankful that he wasn't the only one who was slightly blushing. The slight breeze that flowed around them gently messed up Tyler's hair, but it seemed to just add to the holiness of The Tyler Joseph. Josh's eyes danced around Tyler's face, looking at his nose, his cheeks, his eyes and oh god, his lips. Josh couldn't control the need to reach out and touch him anymore, so he slowly, cautiously, lifted his hand, reaching over. His thumb brushed across Tyler's cheek gently, his other fingers coming to a rest near his jaw. Tyler stiffened, his breath hitched, but he didn't pull away. Instead, he somewhat leaned into the touch. Subconsciously the two boys began to lean in closer, and Josh tried his best to not have a heart attack right then and there. They were so close now, all Josh had to do was lean in the last few centimetres and their lips would come together, something Josh had dreamt of doing for so long. Josh let his eyes flutter shut as he leant in.

"JOSH WE NEED TO GO, RIGHT NOW."

Josh's eyes snapped open and Tyler pulled away so fast that Josh's hand fell limply onto the trampoline.  
His heart was beating so fast he thought it might burst out of his chest, and he looked at Tyler as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, but Tyler wouldn't meet his eye. Instead The Tyler Joseph shuffled over to the edge of the trampoline, pushing himself off the edge. The brunette was gone before Josh could even register what was happening.

"Josh, hello? We need to go."

Josh came to then, and he looked over to see Dallon at the edge of the trampoline, tapping his fingers anxiously.  
"What? Why?" he asked, somewhat breathless.  
"We just do. Please, come on. Let's go."  
There was an urgency in Dallon's voice, so he didn't question it. He slowly got off of the trampoline, his body feeling limp but more alive than ever at the same time. Josh followed Dallon back through the house, his eyes darting everywhere, trying to get hold of Tyler again, but he couldn't find him. An anger began to swell within him, what the hell could be so important that Dallon had to interrupt that nearly perfect moment he was having with The Tyler Joseph.

It wasn't until they were out of the house and walking down the road back to Josh's house that he finally asked.  
"Why exactly did we leave?" he asked, the annoyed tone evident in his voice. Dallon looked over at him, biting his lip, a slightly guilty expression on his face.  
"Look, I know you and Tyler were like.. having a moment, or something. But it's just... I saw Brendon and Ryan making out and I couldn't sit there and watch them so I had to go."

Josh stopped walking, looking at Dallon with a dumbfounded look on his face.  
"You mean, you interrupted me and Tyler because you were jealous of Ryan?" Josh forced out, and Dallon nodded simply.  
Josh wanted to scream at his bestfriend in that moment. Dallon had interrupted one of the best moments Josh had ever had with Tyler, stopped them from kissing, and scared Tyler off, just because he didn't want to stay at the party and see his bestfriend, who he had a stupid crush on, making out with someone else. Why the hell couldn't he have just left without him. He wanted to yell at him, but he was silent, looking back at his bestfriend with a clenched jaw before shutting his eyes tightly.

Dallon, picking up on the tenseness, kicked the road absentmindedly, before raising an eyebrow, looking at Josh.

"Sorry?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soon, I promise.


	5. Friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay everyone!  
> been a little busy, and my mental health hasn't been great, but i finally finished a chapter! it's a bit crap though, sorry. :(  
> thanks for sticking around! i love you all so much x stay safe!

"Josh."  
"Josh?"  
"Joshhhh."  
"You have to speak to me again sooner or later."

Josh groaned, rolling over in his bed, pulling the blanket up over his head. It was too early to be dealing with this.  
Dallon sighed, turning over in the makeshift bed he had on the floor of Josh's room. Some sunlight filtered in through the window, glaring into his eyes, causing him to squint slightly.  
After the party, Dallon and Josh had silently walked back to Josh's house. Josh silently made a place for Dallon to sleep, and then silently went on with his night, leaving Dallon to sit there, silently. He was kind of shocked that Josh even let him stay the night, seeing how mad he was. And now, as Dallon laid there quietly, listening to Josh's even breathing as he went back to sleep, he realised Brendon never showed up. They had all made plans to meet back at Josh's after the party, even if they were too drunk to walk in a straight line.  It made his heart hurt, thinking that Brendon had probably hooked up with Ryan. Was probably sleeping with Ryan right at this moment. A sad sigh escaped his lips.

Josh had managed to fall back asleep after Dallon woke him up with his consistent moaning, but now he was being woken up again. He could hear Dallon shuffling around, and so hesistantly he opened his eyes, bringing up a hand to rub at them, before running it through his hair. He turned around in his bed so he was facing Dallon, who was shrugging his shirt back on.  
"What're you doing?" Josh mumbled, voice thick with sleep, too annoyed to keep up the silence charade he had going.  
"It's 8 o'clock and Brendon hasn't contacted us yet." Dallon said, as if it that made it perfectly clear.  
"So? He's probably still asleep, too hungover to function or something." Josh replied with a groan, closing his eyes again.  
Dallon shrugged. "I'm going to go find him."

Josh raised his eyebrows. "Seriously?" he asked, pushing himself up into a sitting position, the blanket falling into his lap.  
His bestfriend nodded as he pulled his shoes on, standing infront of the mirror to run a hand through his sleep ruffled hair.  
"He's our friend Josh, our bestfriend. Ryan seems like a good guy, but, do we really know that? Brendon could be anywhere right now. Like lying in a ditch. Dead."  
Josh couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head. Dallon did have a point though.  
"You've tried texting him?" Josh asked, Dallon replied with a nod.  
"And I've called him loads of times."

Josh sat there quietly for a moment before he nodded, sighing. "Okay, fine, just let me get dressed, or something." he mumbled, getting up off the bed. He had managed to throw on a pair of red sweatpants just before there was a knock on his bedroom door.  
Josh raised an eyebrow slightly as he walked over to open it, his Mum hardly ever knocked without saying something, usually there was an added "Josh get up." "Josh, Dallon's here." "Josh, Brendon's at the door." "Josh, you're going to be late." "Josh, can I come in?"  
When he pulled open the door, he wasn't expecting to see The Tyler Joseph standing there, with a dishevelled looking Brendon leaning against him. Josh froze, slightly shocked at seeing Tyler standing in his house, just outside his room. The brunette was still wearing yesterday's clothes, his hair was fluffy and messed up slightly and he looked.. tired.

Tyler swallowed nervously as he looked at the shirtless Joshua Dun infront of him, red sweatpants hanging low on his hips. He tried his best to keep his eyes on the others face.  
"Josh? God, my head hurts." Brendon drawled, stepping forward, his movement sloppy. Josh reached out and grabbed Brendon's shoulder, before Dallon joined him, wrapping an arm around Brendon's body and helping him into the room, lying him down on Josh's bed.  
Josh turned back to Tyler.  
"Yeah, ah, he's definitely hung over." Tyler said, rubbing his neck awkwardly. Josh had picked up that he did that when he was nervous, or shy.  
"Him and Ryan went hard last night.. all night.. Ry's passed out on Mark's couch, and Brendon was with him. I was just going to leave him there, but he kept saying something about feeling bad for leaving you guys and not going home with you guys. Mark wanted him out anyway.. so I offered to help him get here, since he can barely move. He gave me directions, and then your Mum let us in." Tyler rambled and Josh smiled slightly, tilting his head to the side a little.

"Ah, thanks." Josh replied awkwardly, turning his head a little to see Brendon sprawled out on his bed with Dallon shaking his head annoyingly.  
There was an awkward silence when Josh turned back, Tyler looking down as he shuffled his feet absentmindedly, Josh watching him quietly.  
"I, ah, should go." Tyler said eventually, and Josh nodded a little, stepping out of his room and closing his bedroom door behind him.  
Tyler looked at him, slightly confused.  
"I'll walk you out?" Josh asked with a chuckle and Tyler smirked slightly, raising an eyebrow. "Such a gentleman."  
"Don't test me, Joseph." Josh added with a laugh as the two walked slowly down the hall and descended down the stairs.

As they walked out the front door, Josh closed it behind him before he leaned back on it, crossing his legs over infront of him. Tyler stopped and turned awkwardly, once again his hand coming up to rest behind his neck. The two looked at eachother quietly before Josh broke the silence.  
"About last night.." he began, but stopped when Tyler shook his head.  
"I don't want to talk about it." Tyler added quickly, and Josh's heart plummeted. He nodded sadly, looking down at the ground slightly. Ofcourse Tyler didn't want to talk about it. He was straight. He probably regretted even letting Josh touch him.  
"O-okay."  
He heard Tyler take a deep breath in as he stepped forward and suddenly there was a warm hand on the side of his neck, a thumb gently caressing his jaw. Josh's eyes rose up, meeting Tyler's softer ones.  
"I don't want to talk about it, because I don't know what to say." the brunette added quietly, and Josh was hypnotised, lost in the soft chocolate pools of Tyler's eyes.

"It's a-a lot for me to process." Tyler continued, "And right now, I don't know what to think. All I know, is that I was definitely going to let you kiss me last night. And that scares me. Because you're a guy." The corner of Josh's lips turned up into a slight smile as he nodded slightly in understanding. "I think I just need some time to think. To.. understand.."  
Tyler let his thumb brush over Josh's jaw once more before dropping and he stepped back. Josh wanted to whine at the loss of contact, but he managed to keep himself together.  
Tyler smiled weakly at him. "How about until I begin to understand.. until I know what I feel.. friends?" The brunette held his hand out and Josh laughed, grasping Tyler's hand in his own as he shook it.  
"Friends." the red haired boy agreed. Tyler smiled widely at that and Josh really wanted to kiss him. So bad. But he didn't. Instead the two said goodbye and Josh went back into his house, his heart beating very, very hard.

When Josh returned to his bedroom, he found Brendon passed out on his bed and Dallon sitting with his back pressed up against the bed on the floor.  Dallon looked up at him as Josh walked in, raising an eyebrow at the smile plastered on Josh's face.  
Josh shook his head, before looking down at Brendon, chuckling slightly.  
"Beebo really goes hard, doesn't he."  
Dallon snorted, but nodded his head, and Josh moved to slide down beside him, their shoulders pressed together. It was quiet for a few moments, the only sound in the room being Brendon's light snores, before Dallon spoke up again.

"I really am sorry for, you know, interrupting whatever was happening between you and Joseph last night." he said awkwardly, giving Josh a side-ways glance.  
Josh nodded, sighing slightly. "Yeah, I know. It's probably a good thing you did anyway." he replied, and Dallon looked at him, a confused expression on his face.  
"What was happening between you and Tyler last night, anyway?" he asked, narrowing his eyes slightly, the corner of his mouth tilting upwards into a smile. Josh breathed out a laugh, shaking his head slightly.  
"I don't even know, honestly." he replied, running a hand through his hair.  
"Was he.. you know.. going to let you kiss him?" Dallon pressed on and Josh swallowed nervously, not realising how much Dallon had seen.  
"Yeah, he was." Josh answered quietly and Dallon grinned beside him, shaking his head.

"Honestly Josh, how did it only take you such a short amount of time to get The Tyler Joseph, presumably straight guy with a girlfriend, one of the most hottest and definitely the most popular guy in our grade, to nearly kiss you. Teach me your ways."  
Josh laughed, "Shut up." he said, but he couldn't help the grin that creeped onto his face as well.  
It dropped slightly however. "Don't like, tell anyone." he said, turning to look at Dallon, a serious glint in his eyes. "I don't think Tyler wants anyone to know."  
Dallon nodded, "'Course." he answered, knocking shoulders with his bestfriend.

"What happened with you two downstairs?" Dallon asked eventually, and Josh smiled slightly, looking down. He didn't know how much he should tell Dallon, but he also knew that he didn't want to keep any secrets from his bestfriend.  
"I thought he was going to tell me that he regretted our.. nearly kiss, or whatever.. or that he doesn't swing that way or something, but he told me that he just needed some time to think about it, and declared us 'friends' in the meantime, until he decides on what he wants or likes or something."  
Dallon rolled his eyes. "You got friendzoned, and you're happy about it?" he asked, and Josh shrugged slightly, grinning.  
"Friends is a step up from what I was to him before."  
"Trying to be friends with him after you both nearly kissed is going to be awkward." Dallon added, "The sexual tension is going to be through the roof."  
Josh felt his cheeks heating up and he shoved Dallon lightly. "Shut up." he said again and Dallon laughed. They were interrupted by a groan coming from Brendon, and they both turned their heads to look up at the other boy, who looked trashed. Dallon sighed.

"Guess we're on Brendon watch all day." Josh said, and Dallon nodded. "Yeah, guess so."

-  


Tyler had walked straight home after dropping Brendon off at Josh's house, not in the mood to put up with Mark, or Jenna, who was most likely passed out somewhere in the house as well. Even though watching her get with another guy nearly straight after Tyler had walked away from her hadn't affected him at the time, he found himself getting annoyed about it now.  
Even though it was clear to him now that he had no feelings for Jenna, the fact that she had thrown herself at that guy so effortlessly without considering his feelings slightly hurt him. But then again, he had pretty much done the same with Josh, so he wasn't much better.  
As soon as he stepped into the house he heard his Mum's voice from the kitchen. "Tyler?" she had called, and Tyler yelled out a 'yeah, hi' in response, walking slowly into the kitchen. His mother was just tidying up some dishes and she turned around, giving her son a smile.  
"Did you have a nice time at the party?" she asked, and Tyler swallowed slightly, shrugging his shoulders.  
"It was alright."

His mother's smile dropped as she took in his appearance. She had seen Tyler come home from parties before, slightly hung over, looking slightly ruffled, but there was something different this time. As she looked at her son, she couldn't help but notice he looked tired, and perhaps conflicted about something. Especially as he stood there playing with the hem of his shirt awkwardly, looking at the ground.  
"Ty, did something happen?" she asked, placing the towel she was using on the bench. Tyler looked up at that, something like fear flashing in his eyes. He didn't want to tell her about Josh, there was no way. The fear of her rejecting him was too much. But, she could obviously tell something was up, so he cleared his throat before answering, hoping that she wasn't so attached to his girlfriend which would cause her to freak out over this.

"I-I think I want to break up with Jenna." he said, and his mother widened her eyes, tilting her head.  
"Oh honey, why? What happened?"  
Tyler shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Nothing happened Mum, I... I just don't think I love her anymore.." he hesitated, looking up to meet her eyes. "I don't think I ever l-loved her.. I know you and Dad love her so much, and I don't want to disappoint you or whatever.. but.."  
His mother's eyes softened and she walked up to him, wrapping her arms tightly around him, and Tyler leaned into her, wrapping his arms around her as well, taking a deep breath.

"Tyler baby, you deserve to be with someone who you really love, and who really loves you. I love Jenna, but if you aren't happy with her, do what's best for you, love. Please. Don't worry about what anyone else thinks."  
Tyler suddenly was straining to hold back tears and he hugged his mother tighter, nodding his head. He couldn't help but think, _'Would she say those words if I told her I really want to kiss a certain red haired guy at school? Would she pull me into her arms and hug me tightly? Or would I be kicked out into the street for being an abomination, the disappointment clear in her eyes as she watched me sadly from the dooframe?'_ He didn't know, and it's the uncertainty that made him terrified. She was seemingly fine with other people being gay, but what about her own _son?_ When a few tears did slip down Tyler's cheeks, it wasn't because of Jenna.


	6. Friends don't stare at eachother like that

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while! I've been busy with school and life in general. I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm looking forward to the next few chapters ;)

Suddenly, the weekend disappeared and Josh found himself back at school, back in the familiar cafeteria, his friends surrounding him. He had long ago finished his lunch, and was now lazing back in his chair casually, listening to the words that were being tossed around his table. He was looking at the table, playing with his nails absentmindedly, when suddenly Dallon pushed his shoulder. Josh's eyes darted up, narrowing as they looked back at his friend. 

"What?" he asked annoyingly. Dallon tried his best to not smile, but failed. His eyes flicked to something over Josh's shoulder before back to Josh, and then he raised an eyebrow. Josh's eyebrows furrowed, but slowly he turned around, only to find that The Tyler Joseph was looking at him from his table. Their eyes caught and Josh's head snapped back to his own table, his cheeks heating up slightly. Dallon laughed, shaking his head. "He's been staring at you since the start of lunch Joshie." Josh shook his head, biting his lip.  "No he hasn't." Dallon snorted, rolling his eyes. "How would you know, you haven't been looking at him, which is... unusual." Dallon's voice hinted at confusion towards the end, and he cocked his head at Josh. "Why haven't you been obsessing over him today?" Dallon asked curiously, and Josh shook his head. "Friends," he began, "Don't stare at each other like that." he finished and Dallon hummed in response. 

"Well, clearly Tyler missed that memo." Melanie piped up from across the table, smiling sweetly at him. Josh turned slightly then, glancing back across the room. Tyler was looking away, but it was like a silent connection drew him to glance back. This time when their eyes caught, Tyler smiled softly and timidly, and Josh returned it. "Ugh, you two are so cute." Melanie drawled and Josh looked back at her with a scowl. "We've only been on speaking terms for a few days." he stated. "But you nearly kis-" Dallon began before he stopped himself, realising that the other three at the table didn't know. "Nearly what?" Brendon asked loudly, putting down his sandwich to look at Josh curiously. "Nothing." Josh said, glaring at Dallon who raised a hand to rub at the back of his neck awkwardly. "It sounded like you were about to say kiss-" Ashley began but was cut off as Brendon stood up abruptly. Everyone on the table turned to look at him curiously.

"What are-" Brendon cut Dallon off with a wave, grabbing his bag that was by his feet and slinging it over his shoulder. "I'll see you guys later." he said, walking around the table. The four of them stared at him incredulously, before they noticed Ryan waiting at the cafeteria door that lead outside, realising Brendon was headed straight for him. They all watched silently as they greeted eachother with a hug and fond smiles, before both of them walked outside together, disappearing from their line of sight.    "Well then.." Ashley said, furrowing her eyebrows slightly. "Is there something going on between those two?" she asked, turning back to Dallon and Josh. Dallon slunk down into his chair with a huff, making Josh smirk at him. "I think so." Josh said, making an "awww" come from Melanie. Dallon narrowed his eyes, glaring at her. She looked back at him with a confused expression on her face. "What?"

-

Mark was looking at Ryan with a look of disgust on his face as Brendon approached him, even more disgust showing when the two of them hugged. Tyler's gazed lingered on the two of them as they walked out of the cafeteria together, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I liked Ryan." Mark said, breaking the silence, causing Tyler's eyes to snap back to him. He raised an eyebrow at his friend. "What?" he questioned and Mark looked at him, scrunching up his face in disgust. "I said I liked Ryan. He was one of the good ones. 'Shame that he's a fag now." 

The word made Tyler's blood run cold and he looked away from Mark, focusing his attention on playing with the hem of his hoodie under the table. "H-him and Brendon could just be frie-" he went to reason, even though he knew that wasn't the case. "No way Tyjo, did you see them sucking face at the party? Was fucking disgusting." Mark spat, and a few boys who sat on their table laughed and hummed in agreement. Tyler's jaw clenched slightly. "I told him this morning when he came to sit with us that no way he can, no fairy's going to be hanging out with us. Said he could either admit that it was just something that happened because he was drunk, or he could piss off. Told me to go fuck myself and left."

Tyler looked up at him disbelievingly, eyes widening. He had wandered why Ryan hadn't been sitting with them all day and avoiding them in the halls, he had figured he had just wanted to be alone or something, maybe having an off day.. he hadn't been expecting something like this. "But just because he likes boys doesn't make him any different, does it? I mean, he's still the same Ryan we've been friends with for years.." Tyler said before he could stop himself, swallowing nervously when Mark turned to look at him with his eyes narrowed. A few of the guys around the table copied him, looking at Tyler uncertainly. "You sticking up for the faggot?" one guy, Adam, asked, disbelief and a hint of disgust clear in his tone. Everyone was now focused on Tyler, and his skin crawled under their heavy gazes. His heart began to beat faster. "Yeah, Joseph, didn't peg you to be a rainbow supporter." another guy, Jason, said snidely, narrowing his eyes at him.

Tyler's shield closed over him, the fear of rejection spreading through him like fire. He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Ofcourse I'm not fucking sticking up for him." he began, "I was just asking, messing around really. Wanted to see how you guys would react, if you'd agree or not." That seemed to please Mark, a grin spreading across his face. "Fishing out the weak ones." he added and Tyler nodded, returning the grin. Everyone at their table seemed to be okay with that, they answered with laughs and soon the conversation returned to normal. Tyler tried to regain his composure, not letting the tears that so desperately wanted to come through show.

He was picking at his nails, trying to tune out the voices around him that he suddenly couldn't stand, when a familiar figure slide onto his lap. His arms curled around her body on instinct, it had become a habit. The heaviness of Jenna's perfume surrounded him, and for a second he felt like he was being deprived of all air. He looked up at her and noticed she was smiling down at him, a little too sweetly. They hadn't spoken since the party, and Tyler hadn't yet proposed the idea of them breaking up. Looking past Jenna's body, he noticed the guy she had gotten with after Tyler brushed her off at the party was shrinking down, not lifting his eyes to meet Tyler's gaze. He felt a sharp pang of annoyance, but he forced it away, lifting his eyes back up to meet Jenna's, leaning his head back slightly. "Hey baby." he forced, the corner of his mouth tilting up slightly. Jenna lent down, tangling her hands in Tyler's hair, pressing her lips to his. Tyler responded as willingly as he could, not liking the texture of Jenna's lipgloss against his lips, hating how gentle she was against him, her perfume blanketing him. All he could think was wrong wrong wrong wrong. 

The cat-calls around him was what finally made Jenna break their kiss and she giggled against his mouth. It sounded fake. Tyler forced himself to smile back at her. "I wish I could stay," she purred, running her hand down the back of Tyler's head, fingers rubbing at his neck, "But the girls and I are going to go to class early to speak to the teacher." she said, her eyes looking into his. Tyler nodded, honestly really not caring. "Okay." he said, and she giggled again, kissing him once more. When she pulled back, she brought up a hand to cup his face, swiping her thumb across his lips to rid of the lipgloss that had smeared there. "I'll talk to you later, baby." she cooed and Tyler nodded, smiling weakly. He watched Jenna walk away from him, meeting back up with her group of friends, and they made their way through the busy cafeteria, eyes belonging to numerous guys following their moves.  However Tyler wasn't one of them, instead his eyes were focused on Josh, across the room, who was looking at Tyler sadly, before his gaze moved towards the departing figure of Jenna, then back towards his own table. Tyler found himself wanting to get up and march over there, letting his hands tangle in the unruly red hair, kissing that sad look straight off of Josh's adorable face. Those thoughts scared him.

Mark whistled beside him and Tyler blinked a few times, being pulled from his daze, turning his head to him. "She's such a babe, Ty." he began, "You're so lucky dude." Tyler choked out a, "Y-yeah," clearing his throat awkwardly. Thankfully the topic of conversation turned towards their upcoming basketball game, and Tyler let out a breath. Usually he would be stoked to talk about basketball, but not today. There was just so much on his mind.. he wanted to be alone, or be sitting with someone else entirely, his eyes drifted over towards Josh again.  How had just two days of talking to Josh Dun suddenly made him so different? Made everything feel so different? Marks' voice, once again, pulled back his attention. "So, how's the plan going?" his smug voice asked and Tyler felt a lump in his throat as he turned towards him. "It's....going." he responded awkwardly, not meeting his eyes. He heard Mark chuckle beside him. As Mark's attention was drawn back to the discussion of basketball, Tyler sighed quietly, sliding down his chair a little. He lifted his hand and ran it through his hair, letting it slide down his cheek. 

-

The day passed uneventfully, however after seeing Tyler and Jenna so touchy at lunch, Josh's mood had plummeted. He wasn't expecting Tyler to suddenly just drop everything after their near-kiss that both of them wanted to happen, but it still stung a little to see Tyler and his girlfriend still acting like the perfect straight couple. It was after school now, Josh had his bag slung over his shoulder as he was getting ready to walk home. The others all had plans, so he was planning on heading home and playing the drums, maybe play some video games. Homework? Nah. He walked out of the school building when his eyes were drawn to a familiar figure standing beside a tree with someone else at the edge of the schools property. His movements slowed as he realised it was Tyler, and Jenna. The two seemed to be arguing, hands flying around in movements as they spoke heatedly to eachother. Josh knew he should just keep walking, mind his own business, but he found himself stopping in his tracks. It was quite deserted, most people had already rushed off, eager to get away from the school. There were still a few lurkers around, but it seemed that Josh was the only one who had noticed Tyler (ofcourse.)

Josh watched the two silently for a few more moments, until he saw Jenna turn and rush away, rubbing at her eyes with her hands. Was she crying? Josh followed her with his eyes until she was gone, and then his gaze flickered back to Tyler, who had slid his back down the tree so he was now sitting on the ground. He had a small idea of what had maybe happened, but he wasn't about to come to any conclusions. After a few seconds of deliberating in his head, he found himself slowly walking over to Tyler. The other boy didn't notice him approaching until he was standing a few steps infront of him. Slowly Tyler lifted his head from where it was rested on his knees which he had pulled up to his chest. 

"Hey." Josh said awkwardly, giving him a small smile. Tyler hesitated for a second before the corner of his lips perked up slightly. "Hey." His voice was slightly weak, but he wasn't crying. With himself curled up like that against the tree, he looked very small. "Is everything, ah, okay?" he asked and Tyler snorted, looking away from him. "I don't know." Josh raised an eyebrow slightly. "What happened with Jenna?" Tyler looked back at him at that, seeming to consider what to say for a moment.

"I broke up with her." A few emotions swirled through Josh at that, but he didn't let any show. "Oh." he said dumbly, mentally scolding himself. "Yeah." It was quiet for a few beats, the only sound the rustling of the leaves above them as the wind jostled them and the distanced voices of a few people behind them as they left. 

"Are you upset?" Tyler looked at him for a second, biting his bottom lip in thought. "I don't know." he answered, sighing, his head falling back to lean against the tree. Josh hummed in response, absentmindedly kicking the dirt with one of his shoes. Once again silence settled around them, Josh could feel his heart beat as he stood there, contemplating on what to do.  In the end, he decided that he hated seeing Tyler looking so tiny and weak, and he wanted to do anything he could to change it. "Do you want to come to mine?" he asked suddenly, and Tyler straightened his head, looking at him curiously. "I have video games and red bull and food. We can hang out, you know, like friends do." Josh's eyes found Tyler's and he smiled, before his smile dropped slightly. "Unless you have like basketball practice or something else on or whatever." Josh felt his heart rate pick up as Tyler smiled back at him, shaking his head. "I don't. I'd love to hang out." he said, as he pushed himself up off the ground, grabbing his bag whilst doing so, slinging it over his shoulder. Josh stared back at him dumbly for a second. "Wait, really?" he asked without meaning to, and his cheeks heated up slightly. Tyler smiled again, shrugging a little. "Yeah." Josh grinned back at him, his confidence around Tyler slowly building back up. "Okay then, let's go." 


End file.
